Troubleshoot transcription and translation issues

    Who can use this: Any team member

    Available on: Any Gong plan

Transcription and translation issues in Gong typically fall into a few distinct categories. Find the section that matches what you are seeing.

Transcript is in the wrong language

Gong detects the spoken language automatically. Detection errors are more common on multilingual calls, calls where people spoke with heavy accents, or short calls with limited audio.

To fix a transcript in the wrong language:

From the call page, reprocess the call in the correct language. See Transcribe a call in the correct language for steps. This is available within 90 days of the recording date.

If detection errors happen consistently for the same team member, set their spoken languages in their profile or in Admin center. Narrowing the language list helps Gong make more accurate detections. See setting language preferences and setting spoken languages for your team.

A product or company name is wrong in the transcript

Gong's speech recognition may not recognize uncommon brand names, product names, acronyms, or industry terms. Custom vocabulary corrects these by replacing observed mis-transcriptions with the right term.

To fix a term that is consistently wrong:

1. Note the exact mis-transcription you see in the call. For example, "air be and be" for Airbnb.

2. Add a custom vocabulary term with that mis-transcription as an alternative pronunciation. See managing custom vocabulary with AI Transcriber.

Note:

Custom vocabulary changes apply to new calls immediately. Historical calls are updated in the background, usually within a few hours, for transcript text only. Briefs, outlines, and other AI-generated summaries are not automatically regenerated when vocabulary changes.

Search does not work in the translated transcript

Gong's transcript search works on the source-language text. Translated transcripts are a rendered view and are not independently indexed for search.

Workaround: Return to the original language to search the transcript. Click the translate icon in the transcript panel and select the original language.

Library and search previews are not translated

Call cards in the library and search results show a preview of the call in the original spoken language, even when you have a default translation language set. This is a current product limitation: preview text on cards does not automatically follow the AI Translator setting.

To read the content in your preferred language, open the call and use the translate option on the call page. The full transcript and AI content appear in your preferred language.

Custom vocabulary terms are not applying as expected

If a custom vocabulary term is not applying as expected, one of the following is usually the cause:

• Alternative does not match speech recognition output: Gong's speech-to-text processing may produce something different from what you expect. Check the raw transcript text to find the exact string that appears and use that as the alternative.

• Term is new, historical calls still processing: New vocabulary changes apply to new calls immediately. Historical calls are updated in the background within a few hours.

• Alternative includes numbers or digit strings: Digit normalization in speech recognition can produce variations that do not match simple text alternatives. Avoid alternatives that contain numbers if possible.

Frequently asked questions